


Sun and Sky and Clouds

by twitchtipthegnawer



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - No Humans, Boxing & Fisticuffs, Furry, Hand Jobs, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 17:00:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14856675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twitchtipthegnawer/pseuds/twitchtipthegnawer
Summary: Thomas is just your average, everyday lucario. Enjoying life in a world where all pokemon are sentient, and wear clothes, and walk on two legs as a general rule. What's a human, by the way?Itsuki is a riolu who just wants to make it through the month without having to eat his incompetent brother's cooking again. The cute lucario he notices at the gym might buy him dinner if he plays his cards right.





	Sun and Sky and Clouds

The gym Thomas always worked out at (lowercase G, none of that badge nonsense) wasn’t particularly packed that day. It was likely the only reason he noticed the newcomers. In a city as large as Castelia, people came and went, but the pair that headed towards the punching bags now was downright strange.

An alolan ninetails and a shiny riolu. They made quite a pair, pale blue and bright yellow - even brighter than the usual shiny shade. Thomas had an uncle who shared the unusual coloration, but he’d leaned much greener than the little guy currently stomping his way across a mat. The riolu looked to be in middle school, the last bits of baby fat still clinging to his belly while his limbs stretched into the beginnings of awkward puberty.

Thomas quickly pulled his eyes away and focused on the weights he was supposed to be lifting.  _ Oggling underaged boys is bad, _ he told himself,  _ and I should be very ashamed. _ Then he snorted, because yeah, right.

He didn’t even think of the two of them again until he felt a claw lightly prod at his back halfway through his workout. “Excuse me,” said a polite voice. “I was told you box?”

Looking up, and up, and  _ up, _ Thomas made eye contact with the ninetails. His green eyes were startlingly bright in the cold-colored face. “Kickbox,” Thomas corrected. “Are you looking for a trainer or something? I could give you some contact info.”

“No, no. I wanted a sparring partner.”

Seeing the mild face in front of him, Thomas could almost believe he’d imagined the words. But then his gaze fell back down and hit on the white boxing shorts and padded gloves the ninetails had already donned. “But you’re -”

A single, pale eyebrow rose as Thomas cut himself off. “I mean. I can. Yeah.”

“You’ll spar with me?” The ninetails’ face went from pleasant to delighted in an instant. His curly-furred tails lashed a bit in a pleased dance. “Thank you! I’m Healani, by the way.”

“Thomas.” They clasped each others’ hands, since both wore open-palm gloves and it wasn’t  _ too _ awkward. Then he had to drop into a series of stretches, since he hadn’t exactly been planning on this, and he was left with a bunch of questions buzzing in his head. “So, what brings you to our gym? Was your usual one too busy?”

“Oh, no,” Healani waved his hand lackadaisically. “My brother and I just moved here from Alola. He’s over there, by the treadmills.”

It wasn’t strictly necessary to turn and look at the shiny riolu Thomas knew Healani was referring to, but he did for the sake of not seeming like some kind of weirdo. “Oh man, you guys chose a hell of a time to move,” he said, reaching his front paws down the long line of his left leg.

“Really?” Healani’s smile dimmed a bit. “Why’s that?”

“Winter’s about to arrive.” Thomas grinned, and let it crinkle his brown eyes up. “You might be fine, but the little guy isn’t used to it, yeah?”

Healani blinked, then barked a surprisingly coarse laugh for such a soft-voiced man. “Don’t let Itsuki hear you calling him that. He’s sensitive about his height.”

“How come?” Thomas finished his stretches and stood back up. “Lucario don’t end up that tall anyway. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

In point of fact Thomas had gone through a phase when he’d realized he’d be below average even for lucario, but he’d gotten over it. And besides, it wasn’t height that mattered, it was having muscles and knowing how to use them. Thomas’ stocky build allowed for both in spades.

“I keep telling him that,” Healani agreed. “But he still checks his height about once a week. I was a late bloomer too, but that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Late bloomer?”

“Yeah, you can’t really tell but he’s already sixteen.”

_ Ohhhhh. _ His attention wanted to wander back to the boy - Itsuki - but he’d promised to give the older brother a go at him, so. Maybe later (he really hoped there’d be a later).

They squared up on opposite sides of the mat, and for lack of anything better to say, Thomas called out “No hard feelings when I beat you up, right?” Healani simply shook his head, popped his mouthguard in, and put his hands up by his face in a surprisingly effective guard. They crept toward each other, Thomas bouncing on his toes like he was born with springs in his feet.

Somehow he didn’t expect the first swing, when it came. Healani’s fist flew in from his right, and Thomas barely ducked his head out of the way in time. He dropped even lower and aimed an uppercut for Healani’s diaphragm, but his hand hit nothing but air as the ninetails danced backwards. Okay, he was going to have to adjust how hard he expected this fight to be.

Fighting like this was fun, with no stakes in the way of the playful feeling it evoked in Thomas. Healani continued to dodge rather than block when he could. It made it exceedingly easy for Thomas to get a grasp on his fighting style, however, and after a minute he began landing hits.

Ultimately Healani  _ was _ faster than him, but Thomas certainly had more fighting experience. It was only about twenty minutes before Healani put both paws up in a gesture of surrender that had Thomas grinning widely. “Too much for you?” He slurred around his mouthguard.

With a shake of his head, Healani spat his own mouthguard out and grinned wryly at Thomas. “I think you’re just some kind of beast. What amateur has that much stamina?”

“I’m not really an amateur,” Thomas said, puffed from pride after the fight. Then he deflated a bit. “Well, I’m not going to  _ stay _ an amateur, anyway.”

“Do you want to do coaching?” Something excited glittered in those green eyes, and Thomas hastily put his own paws up.

“No, that’s not -”

“Then you should try teaching Itsuki!”

What. “What.” Seriously,  _ what? _

Silently, Healani tilted his head and flicked his gaze to the side for a moment. Thomas followed the cue and saw Itsuki, standing just far enough away to be inconspicuous, leaning against the wall and watching. The moment that his eyes met Thomas’, however, he hurriedly looked down at the phone he’d been limply holding and began tapping away.

“I think he needs a fighting type in his life,” Healani admitted, when Thomas looked to him to elaborate. “Our mom… she passed away last year, and it’s been hard on him.”

“Oh,” Thomas didn’t know what to say to that. Despite being a fully independent adult, he couldn’t imagine losing his Mom or Dad now, let alone back when he’d been in high school. “I could try, I guess. My own training was kinda weird, though, so I don’t know how good of a job I’ll manage.”

Waving his hand dismissively, Healani said with a smile, “It’s not like he’s planning on competing or anything. He just needs something to keep him busy, especially when work’s got me all tied up. Can we exchange phone numbers? That’ll make it easier to work out when you can meet up with him and stuff.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Thomas rattled off the numbers for Healani to input (his phone was in his locker, and slightly out of reach at the moment). They ended up parting ways when Healani caught sight of Itsuki putting a ludicrous amount of weight on a machine, and Thomas headed towards the locker rooms alone. He might not’ve technically finished all he’d wanted to do today, but that sparring match had given him a lot to think about.

And besides, he didn’t really want to be showering at the same time as the cute, underaged boy and his surprisingly tough older brother.

The jog back home was slightly less boring with his phone bouncing in his pocket, awaiting a text from Thomas’ unusual new friend. Maybe he’d call his parents, too, when he got home. It had been a while since they’d eaten together, and with all three of them in the same city it seemed a shame.

\---------------

“Thanks again,” Healani said, wrapping Thomas in a half-hug. “I wish I could stay and hang out for a while, but this client -”

Thomas patted his shoulder and gave him a grin. “No worries. Go do your art… thing, I’ll be here with your brother when you’re done.”

And with that Healani was practically sashaying from the gym’s locker room, leaving a somewhat bemused Thomas with Itsuki and absolutely no idea how to start the conversation. “So, ah,” Thomas started. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Do you know which stretches to do for sparring?”

“Yep,” Itsuki said shortly. He immediately started stretching, reaching down to touch his toes and. Er, bouncing, a bit, which. Was not how you stretch.

Sighing, Thomas decided to lead by example. If Itsuki didn’t pay attention and copy him, then it’d be his own fault if he ended up with sore muscles. Sore muscles Thomas could help massage back into looseness, of course. He was a responsible coach. Totally.

He was also a coach who needed to  _ keep his mind out of the gutter, _ if he wanted to effectively teach the kid at all.

“So,” Thomas tried to start another conversation. “Did you want to try boxing because of your brother? He’s surprisingly good at it.”

“You’re only surprised because he’s a Ninetails,” Itsuki said with a judgemental look.

Oh, to be sixteen and  _ that _ brash. “He’s got a slight build,” Thomas explained. “You don’t see that often in the sport.”

“Do most boxers look like you?”

“My musculature isn’t unusual, no.”

“I was talking about being short.”

At that, Thomas burst out laughing. Itsuki looked a bit belligerent, but didn’t comment on the way Thomas doubled over and snorted. A nearby machoke gave a stifled laugh too, and Thomas made eye contact - hey, it was Jake - to try to indicate that he didn’t need another stranger pestering the kid.

“Listen, do you even want to be doing this? Because we don’t have to.”

Itsuki looked genuinely shocked, and opened his mouth with a protest clear in his furrowed brows. Thomas held up a hand to stop him, still smiling. “Seriously, I’ll just, I dunno, get us both coffees. Why did you even agree, if you’re aren’t interested in boxing?”

Over the course of his small speech, Itsuki had slowly deflated until he looked more resigned than anything else. “Well, it’s not like I can bond with Healani over  _ art stuff.” _

The way he said it made Thomas think there was more going on (no one avoided eye contact that hard unless they weren’t telling the whole truth), but he didn’t push. “You’re brothers,” he said instead. “You’ll have stuff to talk about even if you don’t both box. Now, do you want a coffee or not?”

Even before Itsuki answered he wrinkled his nose, and Thomas smiled at him again. “How about a walk, then? There’s a park pretty closeby.”

Was Itsuki embarrassed, or was that wishful thinking on his part?

Regardless, they packed up their gloves and changed back into normal clothes (Itsuki at too awkward of an angle for Thomas to sneak more than a glance, damnit), and headed back outside. The first bite of frost was in the air, but it hadn’t snowed yet this year. As much as Thomas liked colder weather, he found himself glad when Itsuki shivered even in the mild chill.

Together, they walked down the road a couple of blocks. Thomas thought their silence was companionable, right up until he noticed how Itsuki was fiddling with his fingers and giving him glances out of the corner of his eye.  _ Then _ he just tried to swallow the awkwardness, until he noticed something  _ else.  _ Namely, Itsuki eyeing a food vendor.

“Do you want some?” Thomas offered. Itsuki’s mouth dropped open a bit as he nodded, and Thomas smiled in response, then walked up and ordered two hotdogs.

“Kinda late for lunch,” he noted as he passed over the cash. “But Castelia dogs are worth it.”

“Yeah,” Itsuki said, looking like he meant it not at all even as he wolfed down the ‘dog.

Bemused, Thomas said, “I know I was hungry when I was your age, but I wasn’t  _ that _ hungry.”

“It’s not like you’re that much older,” Itsuki muttered. “Healani told me you’re the same age as him. Also, I didn’t eat much last night.”

“You didn’t? How come?”

They rounded the corner after the vendor and the park came into sight. It was pretty nice, and Itsuki’s eyes (the same emerald as his brother’s, huh) sparkled to see it. Thomas was so caught up in the glitter and the way Itsuki had a teensy bit of ketchup on the corner of his mouth that he almost missed the answer. “It was Healani’s turn to cook.”

“Oh,” Thomas took a bite of his own hotdog, then almost coughed it up as he caught the implications.  _ “Oh.” _

Rolling his eyes at the overreaction, Itsuki said, “Don’t tell him I told you. He’s sensitive about his cooking skills.” They really  _ were _ brothers, divulging each others’ embarrassments at the drop of a hat.

“Or lack thereof?” Thomas guessed.

“Exactly,” Itsuki confirmed. They walked down the brick path laid into the middle of the park, Itsuki’s front paws shoved deep in his jeans’ pockets to keep them warm. Thomas polished off the last of his salty snack and took a deep breath, about to offer to cook for Itsuki and his brother (and maybe invite the former to some kind of actual dinner date), when Itsuki began speaking again.

“Mom and Dad were great cooks. They never bothered teaching us ‘cause I think they just liked making stuff themselves so much. I miss Mom’s mochi,” he sighed, too heavily for Thomas to just dismiss it. Healani had said that their Mom was dead, but what about their father?

Quickly, Thomas amended his plans in his own mind. “Hey, do you and your brother wanna come to dinner with me at my parents’ place sometime? My mom might not make mochi, but she’s a damn good chef.”

The look on Itsuki’s face was more mature than Thomas had ever seen on a sixteen year old, and while that boded well for his, ah, less  _ savory _ thoughts, it also sucked super hard. No one should have to grow up that fast, in Thomas’ opinion. “They wouldn’t mind having us over?”

“Not at all,” Thomas confirmed. “I haven’t had guests around since, damn, since high school.”

Itsuki frowned, a small furrow appearing between his pale brows. “Don’t you have any friends?”

Without thinking Thomas reached out and ruffled Itsuki’s hair. “Of course I do, but they’re not exactly the sort I want to introduce to my parents, y’know?”

When he looked down at Itsuki’s expression, he saw the most adorable mix of indignation and embarrassment right before Itsuki ducked out from under his paw. “What, are they all drunks?”

“Actually, yeah,” Thomas said, and Itsuki made this shocked noise that was so cute, he wondered how it’d sound muffled into bed sheets or…  _ nope, back it up. _

“Alcohol isn’t even that good,” he muttered sulkily.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “You’ve tried it?”

“Yeah,” Itsuki said. “I mean, maybe not much, but Healani isn’t strict about that.”

“It’s just a matter of getting used to it,” Thomas soothed. “You won’t mind it in a couple years.”

“Maybe I should have some at your parents’ house,” Itsuki shot back. “My brother’s the one people want to introduce their parents to. I always come across as a brat.”

“I don’t think you’re a brat.” Thomas smiled down at him genuinely. “Your pout’s way too cute for that.”

Itsuki opened his mouth, inhaled, and then closed it again after a beat. He proved Thomas’ point for a few seconds, bottom lip sticking out a bit, and then his green eyes lit up with the same cleverness that had shone in his brothers’ when Healani fought. “You’re one to talk. No one as old as you should laugh like that.”

“Laugh like what?” Thomas was confused, but Itsuki’s grin only widened, showing off a mouthful of sharp teeth.

“Like a kid in a candy store. It’s adorable.”

Oh. That. Thomas hadn’t expected flirting, somehow, but he wasn’t adverse.

He just needed to stop himself from gaping like a virginal maiden first. Yep.

Something about the kid was just so endearing it got his guard down, that was all! He shook off the compliment as best he could, chuckling awkwardly and not childlike in the slightest, and kicked at a small pile of leaves as they passed it. “Anyway, uh. Ask your brother if he’d be interested in coming over, yeah? My mom does something homemade every Sunday.”

“Sure thing,” Itsuki said. “I’ll have him text you when we’re free, yeah?”

Thomas stubbornly told himself he wasn’t disappointed not to get Itsuki’s phone number, and found that he was surprisingly easy to convince on the subject. Especially when he still got another hour and a half of walking around with Itsuki, the exercise too easy to make either of them sweat but perfect for allowing steady conversation to flow between them.

Through an unspoken agreement they stayed away from heavier topics, instead talking about video games (Itsuki was way more into gaming than Thomas, and the way his eyes lit up when discussing a stream he’d watched on Twitch made Thomas’s heart give a little  _ squeeze). _ Itsuki confided that he actually did like his brother’s art, and would be excited to play something featuring Healani’s backgrounds.

As they neared the time Healani had set to pick Itsuki up, they returned to the gym. Itsuki muttered something about wishing for his own car, which made Thomas snort. “I’ve  _ never _ had a car,” he admitted. This amused Itsuki for some reason, and the good-natured teasing had Thomas sniping right back, until Healani arrived.

It took them a minute to notice his car, but Healani waited patiently. Thomas started with a guilty jump when they made eye-contact through the front windsheild. Healani simply shook his head, and as Thomas handed his brother over, gave the two of them a shrewd smile. Itsuki wasted no time in taking offence to that, but Thomas mostly just felt… butterflies in his stomach. He was so fucked. In a good way, though.

\---------------

Healani and Itsuki were both ludicrously bundled up when they approached the apartment complex Thomas’ parents lived in. Itsuki in particular looked cute, wearing a cerulean bubble coat and a white knit scarf that swallowed his face up to his nose. Healani was holding an umbrella, too, and Thomas thought that was weird until he vaguely remembered that his Japanese roommate in college had done the same thing in the snow.

Still, “It’s barely the first snow of the season! What are you two doing dressed for the north pole?”

“You said yourself we aren’t used to this weather,” Healani sniffed defensively.

“You’re an  _ ice type,” _ Thomas was torn between disbelief and hilarity. Itsuki, on the other hand, was starting to shiver pretty seriously, so they ducked inside. Albeit with one more, “can’t believe you guys,” muttered under Thomas’ breath.

They went to the elevator, Thomas pressing the button for the fifth floor before Healani or Itsuki could ask. Healani seemed perfectly comfortable, but Itsuki fidgetted for a bit before tugging off his scarf - which  _ had _ to be getting stuffy, given the building’s effective heating. “Are you sure you want me here too?” He said after a beat. “I’m not like, too childish a friend to have or…”

“You’re fine,” Thomas comforted. Healani rolled his eyes. “Besides, what would you do at this point, just wait in the car the whole time?”

“I dunno,” Itsuki replied. He sounded kind of sulky, and Thomas was reaching out to ruffle the fur at the top of his head without thinking.

At that moment the elevator doors  _ dinged _ open, and Thomas hastily pulled his hand back. He led the way down the hall, stopping at his parents door and rapping his knuckles on it sharply.

It was only about thirty seconds until his mom opened the door, and he had a sneaking suspicion that she’d been waiting with her eye pressed to the peephole waiting for their arrival. He knew she did that in the past, and then proceeded to wait just long enough to make it seem as though she hadn’t.

Goofy as she was, though, he smiled brightly and held his arms out with a cry of, “Ma, long time no see!” She snuggled up close to him, the same height but considerably softer with layers of mom-fat and winter fur. He took after her in many ways, including the big, brown eyes she turned to her guests after the hug was over.

“And who are these friends of yours?” She asked, as though Thomas hadn’t told her they were coming over as well.

“I’m Healani, and this is my brother, Itsuki,” Healani held his paw out for her to shake, a small smile on his face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Anna,” she said, batting her eyes for a moment before she broke into a chortle. “Come in, come in. Thomas, Bill’s on the balcony.”

He understood the silent order of ‘Go make him be social’ without her having to say so. Healani easily sat on the couch, Itsuki stiff beside him, and his mom set about pouring everyone tea and ignoring the panicked look Itsuki shot Thomas as he walked away. It’d be fine, Thomas knew; his mom hardly  _ ever _ bit.

Padding forward as stealthily as he could, he opened the sliding door and slipped onto the small balcony behind his dad.

“Hey there son,” his dad said, cool as could be. “Want a puff?”

One enormous blue paw held out the half-smoked cigar for Thomas. He accepted it, held the smoke in his mouth a moment, and then exhaled a small cloud.

“Remember the first time I let you try this? You coughed for hours,” his dad mused.

“I think most of that was just in my head,” Thomas pointed out.

“Too true. You always did overthink things.”

“Do you want me to overthink you avoiding my guests, too?”

Thomas’ dad turned his oversized, grey-streaked muzzle towards the living room at last. The mysterious scar streaked across his nose cast a weird shadow in the setting sunlight. “Nah, I’ll be right in. By the way, the little one’s eavesdropping.”

By the time Thomas followed his father’s gaze, he caught the tail end of Itsuki making a sour face and jerking away from where he’d been leaning perilously close to falling off the couch. Healani and Thomas’ mom continued talking, completely oblivious, and Thomas fondly shook his head at the lot of them.

Dinner ended up being motzo ball soup, which Healani gave a curious look and Itsuki flat out blanched at. He looked at Thomas, his mouth hanging slightly open, and Thomas could read the  _ “What the hell is this?” _ in his eyes.

Gently, Thomas elbowed Itsuki in the side and winked at him. “They’re just like dumplings,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.

Though Itsuki still looked doubtful, he dutifully dug in with a tentative bite. His eyes widened, green pools looking amazed from his bowl, to Thomas, to Anna, and then starting the loop all over again. Healani’s barking laugh tore Thomas away from admiring how adorable (delectable) Itsuki looked, though it was swiftly muffled when Itsuki shot his brother a betrayed glare.

Honestly, Thomas was impressed by how easily Healani got to know his parents. Thomas had warned his mom not to ask about the brothers’ parents, but now he almost thought he wouldn’t have needed to.

“So, you’re an artist?” Anna asked politely.

“That’s right. I’m working for Game Freak at the moment.”

“Never much saw the point in those games,” Bill grumbled over his own bowl.

Though Thomas felt mortified, Healani waved his hand dismissively. “They’re not really my thing, either! I want to do more with oil paints, really, but it’s hard to get your art into gallery shows these days.  _ Especially _ Studio Castella.”

“I understand, sweetie,” Anna said. Thomas almost snorted; apparently his mom  _ really _ liked Healani. “Living your dream is so much work! But he can do it, right Bill?”

Bill only grumbled in response, and even that was almost overpowered by Itsuki’s petulant, “You talk like you’ve never had art accepted into a show before!”

“Well, it was only one painting,” Healani said modestly.

“You dragged me to the studio even though we weren’t finished unpacking just to stare at it.”

“I was excited!”

Thomas laughed, reached to the side and thumped Healani on the back. His mom watched it all with a faint smile on her face, and Thomas knew she was thinking of how his father had been so excited for his first few televised fights.

Still, something Healani had said bothered Thomas, and he tucked it away in the back of his mind to deal with later.

The rest of the meal went much the same way, with Itsuki getting more and more animated as the night went on. At one point it even seemed like he might challenge Thomas’ dad to a fight over, well, fighting (Thomas was glad he’d apparently explained his dislike of boxing to Healani, but wished he hadn’t picked  _ now _ to voice it). By then the food was gone, however, and Thomas could hastily usher the gesticulating teen towards the door, calling his thank-yous to his parents over his shoulder.

During the elevator ride, conversation died down for the satisfied silence that only came after a good meal. Healani cheerfully wished Thomas a good night at the glass doors, and headed out without turning to see if Itsuki was following him. For a moment, Thomas thought that would be it, but then Itsuki hesitated with one paw clenched on the door’s handle.

“Thank you,” he said, voice soft and steady for once. He just sounded… sincere. Looking down at him, Thomas couldn’t help but be struck by the streetlamp light glittering through the windows and bleaching his fur into a whiter yellow. He really did look like his brother like this. “Really, it means a lot. Healani won’t say it, because he just laughs off tough emotions, but it’s true.”

“It wasn’t any trouble.” Thomas barely mumbled the words out with a tongue that felt thick with unsaid words.

“I know. But that doesn’t make it less awesome.”

And then he stood on his toes, kissed Thomas on the cheek, and scampered off.

\---------------

“Hello?” Thomas held the phone to his ear with one paw and continued typing with the other.

“Hey, Thomas! It’s Healani. I was wondering if you were already on your way over to hang out with Itsuki?”

A quick glance at the clock on his laptop showed that it was a bit later than he’d thought, wincing, Thomas shut the lid and slid it into the bag by his feet. “I was just about to leave,” he lied. “Why?”

“The poor little guy’s got a cold. Could you bring over some chicken soup or something? I forgot to stock up on stuff like that.”

“Oh.” There went his plans to take Itsuki out to Corphish Island Boardwalk. Shaking off the burgeoning disappointment in favor of worry, Thomas asked, “How’s he doing?”

Healani was quick to reassure, “Not bad, I promise. Turns out you were right about the weather is all.”

“Right, okay, want me to bring some cough drops and stuff too?”

“Whatever you want is fine, but don’t spoil him!” Healani laughed, and Thomas’ face felt a little hot under his fur. Healani knew he’d spoil Itsuki in a heartbeat.

“So, I’ll see you at 10?” He asked to cover his embarrassment.

“You got it. Talk to you later!”

Thomas was about to say goodbye, until he suddenly remembered something from a couple of weeks ago and blurted, “Actually, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Erm. Remember that dinner at my parents’ house?”

“Of course, the food was delicious! I want to try cooking that soup myself sometime.”

Putting aside the fact that that was a  _ terrible _ idea… “Ah, well, you mentioned how your Game Freak job is mostly a stopgap?”

“That’s right,” Healani sounded more curious than enthusiastic now.

“Well, don’t tell Itsuki I said so, but he told me, uh. He’s really excited to play a game that your art is part of. So, I hope the job isn’t too distasteful for you.” Thomas finished his awkward speech with a little laugh, like that would make his meddling more tasteful.

The other end of the line was silent for long enough that Thomas started feeling antsy. He was midway through retrieving his wallet so he could get going when Healani finally said, “I hadn’t really thought about that.” He still sounded cheerful, but it was a bit strained now. “Thanks for telling me. Itsuki is so tight-lipped sometimes, I swear!”

“Ha, I know right?” Thomas swallowed and determinedly didn’t think about Itsuki’s lips. “Alright, I’ll let you go. I’m on my way out the door now.”

“Talk to you later,” Healani said again, and hung up. That didn’t go  _ as _ badly as it could’ve.

Though the walk to Healani and Itsuki’s place was kind of long, it passed a drug store, so Thomas elected to do that instead of taking the subway. He went a  _ little bit _ overboard at the CVS, but hey, it was only a little bit. When he buzzed his way into the building it was with a bulging plastic bag swinging under one arm.

Knocking on the door to their apartment, Thomas called, “Hey Itsuki, you hanging in there?”

There was only an incoherent groaning sound in response, but when Thomas tried the door, he found it unlocked. It opened with a rush of too-warm air, and Thomas saw Itsuki lying on the ugly, plaid couch in the middle of the living room. He was covered by a blue fleece blanket, so only the tips of his sunshine ears were visible.

“Hey there,” Thomas tried again. “I brought you soup. And painkillers and decongestants.”

No dice, Itsuki just groaned again.

“Itsuki. Itsuki. _ Itsukiiiiiiii, _ hey, c’mon, it’s only a cold.”

“It’s a  _ bad _ cold,” came a muffled, nasally whine. Thomas smiled and reached out to flick one of his ears. It twitched a little, but Itsuki said nothing else.

“Fine you big puppy,” Thomas teased gently. “I’ll heat the soup up. Be right back.”

Two minutes and an annoyingly loud microwave beep later, and Thomas was once again crouching beside the couch, trying to coax Itsuki out of his blanket burrito.

“You don’t even have a fever, do you?”

“...Maybe. I’unno, everything  _ aches.” _

“I’ll rub your back. Itsuki, you have to eat something.”

Finally Itsuki did sit upright enough to take the bowl in his (completely steady, hah) hands. His eyes looked greener than usual, glazed over, and his mouth hung half-open so he could breathe through it instead of his stuffed up nose. He looked really,  _ really _ cute, especially when he sipped the food Thomas had brought him while hunched over and bundled up.

Thomas had a sudden thought:  _ actually, fuck this. _

Reaching out, Thomas steadied Itsuki’s hands, and before the boy could ask what he was doing Thomas was kissing him. It was closed-lipped like the one from two weeks before, but it lingered longer, and by the time Thomas pulled away Itsuki’s eyes had slid half shut. “What was that for?” The sick boy asked softly.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you.” Thomas’ voice had dropped into a lower register, and came out almost as a growl. “You look  _ really good _ right now.”

“What, when I’m sick?” The incredulousness was obvious in the quirk of Itsuki’s round little eyebrows. Shaking his head, Thomas decided it would be more effective to show the boy than to argue.

Bowl of soup still warming their paws, he brought their muzzles together in another kiss. And fuck getting sick, Thomas hardly ever got colds, so this one was deep. Their tongues slipped, awkward and too wet - Itsuki was salivating more than usual with his illness. But it was still a lot for an inexperienced sixteen-year-old, and it wasn’t long before Thomas had Itsuki making small moaning sounds.

Despite that, Itsuki’s first words when they broke apart were, “It’s hard to breathe.”

“Yeah, your nose is all stuffed up.” Thomas booped it with one padded fingertip.

With an indignant sniffle, Itsuki looked away from him. His eyes snuck back after a moment, though, and he grinned a little. “So. Since the first time you saw me?”

“At the gym,” Thomas confirmed. “You’re really my type.”

“Chubby and short?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you haven’t looked at twink porn, I was sixteen too you know.”

Itsuki’s fur fluffed a little in embarrassment, but his grin didn’t fade away. “I thought you were pretty hot, too.”

“Oh did you?” Thomas teased, pressing closer and taking the steaming bowl out of Itsuki’s hands to set it aside on the hardwood floor.

“Yup.” Itsuki popped the ‘p’ on the word, reached out for Thomas, and seemed surprisingly confident with both flirty actions.

Though a part of him wanted to find out whether or not Itsuki had much experience, more of Thomas was focused on the fact that he was finally allowed to (finally letting himself)  _ touch Itsuki. _ He leaned forward, which pressed Itsuki back against the back of the couch, but the riolu didn’t seem to mind. He arched into the tentative touches Thomas pressed to his belly, and raised his own paws to pet the back of Thomas’ head.

It wasn’t long before Itsuki was pinned between Thomas, who had crawled halfway onto the couch, and the overstuffed cushions. Cutely, his hips were jerking a bit as Thomas continued to make out with him, but his body was still mostly hidden under the blanket. It was twisted between and around them both, and Thomas fought to tug it away while still giving Itsuki the attention he desperately wanted.

“Fucking christ,” Thomas growled against Itsuki’s panting mouth. “How thoroughly did you wrap yourself in this thing anyway?”

“Very,” Itsuki replied breathlessly. “Here, lemme…” He kicked his legs, narrowly avoiding Thomas’ crotch as he did so, but revealing his clothing in the process. If it could even be called that. Itsuki was dressed only in a white tank top and black boxers.

Groaning, Thomas buried his face in the joint between Itsuki’s shoulder and neck. “You’re killing me,” he complained.

“Really? Because you’re making me feel a whole lot better.”

In retaliation Thomas bit down on Itsuki’s shoulder, eliciting a yelp sweeter than any sound he’d heard in a long time. For a while longer they were silent, with only Itsuki’s noises between them. Thomas snuck his hands under his body to scratch down his spine, and Itsuki arched and gasped. Thomas leaned down to nip at Itsuki’s chest through the tank top, and Itsuki made a sound not unlike a mewl.

“Wait, wait,” Itsuki begged eventually. Despite the way his hips continued to frot into Thomas’ abs, he held his hands before his face in a flustered, pleading motion. “I’m, it’s - a l-lot, can we slow down, or -”

“No,” Thomas growled, and had the supreme pleasure of seeing the green of Itsuki’s eyes swallowed up by his pupils up close. “It’s okay, you can cum. I’m not gonna judge.”

Squeaking, Itsuki rushed to deny it, but Thomas cut him off with another kiss. His claws raked down Itsuki’s sides, points dulled by the thin fabric and thick fur, but painful nevertheless.

Thomas felt no small degree of delight to see the way Itsuki responded to scratching and biting that was  _ just _ this side of too hard. It was fucking awesome, and he was going to enjoy indulging in it some other time. A time when Itsuki wasn’t already losing his rhythm, boxers bunched up and damp with precum.

Suddenly frantic not to miss this, Thomas yanked Itsuki’s boxers down and propped himself up on one hand, so he could clearly see Itsuki’s cock out of its sheath. The skin was more pink than red, pale like the rest of his coloration, and the knot was adorably small. He wrapped a paw around it, and that was all it took.

Itsuki’s eyes rolled up and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he came. Stripes of white painted his yellow fur, and he trembled, his breath held and mouth opened wide. Pressing his palm against Itsuki’s navel, Thomas stared unabashedly.

Slowly regaining his composure, Itsuki licked his lips and reached up from where he’d fisted his hands in the couch cushions. Gently, he held the sides of Thomas’ muzzle, and guided him down into another kiss.

When Thomas pulled back, he tried as hard as he could to say, with a straight face, “Quickshot.”

It was totally worth it, even though Itsuki smacked Thomas in the chest for saying it. “Get off me,” Itsuki mumbled petulantly. “You’re heavy.”

Of course, when Thomas actually complied, Itsuki looked surprised. Thomas understood why; he was so hard it was visible through his jeans. “Don’t you want to…?” Itsuki licked his lips as he looked at Thomas’ crotch.

“You’re doing a, hah, very good job of tempting me, but not right now kiddo.” The same word he’d have used to tease earlier was a term of endearment that made Itsuki’s eyes glitter now. “We need to get you cleaned up, and I never gave you that back rub I promised.”

“But…” Itsuki actually did look a little disappointed.

“I don’t want to actually overwhelm you,” Thomas explained. “We only started dating what, an hour ago?”

“Dating? We’re dating?”

Itsuki’s smile was so wide it made Thomas reflexively smile in response. At the moment, he could almost ignore the way Healani would almost certainly eviscerate him with a smile on his face for this. Hey, did it count as defiling a minor when the minor was more emotionally mature than most of your twenty-something friends?

Okay, yes, it still counted, but Thomas thought it might be worth it, even when Itsuki demanded that Thomas get the tissues and clean the spunk out of his fur for him.

**Author's Note:**

> [Read on furaffinity](http://www.furaffinity.net/view/27550513/)
> 
> [My tumblr](http://twitchtipthegnawer.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [My twitter](https://twitter.com/twitchingcorpse?lang=en)
> 
> This was a commission for my roommate which took me an embarrassingly long time to complete. Hopefully it was worth the several months that ended up going into it? :"") The only requirements for the commission were lucario/riolu and underaged, so any unlikeable characters or nonsense worldbuilding are my fault, and not his.


End file.
